No One But Myself
by Sand-wolf579
Summary: Dakota tries to be a happy kind of guy, but it's kind of hard for him to put on a happy face when he just feels so alone.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This wasn't exactly what I had in mind when I thought of writing an Island of the Lost Dakota's based fic. I'm pretty sure we all remember Cannibal Dakota. I know he was just put in there as a joke, but I couldn't help but wonder why there was a cannibal Dakota in the first place, thus, this story was born.**

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Vinnie Dakota had memories of going back in time to prevent his partner's death. He had done it dozens of times already (38, to be exact), and he was just starting to get used to the idea. He was just barely starting to accept that this was going to just be a regular part of his life, and he was beginning to learn how to be okay with that.

...and then he ended up becoming number 39.

This was...something completely new, and Dakota would be lying if he said that he wasn't the least bit nervous and anxious. He had just set foot on an island that was supposedly only inhabited by dozens of other Dakotas. He didn't know where to find the other versions of himself. He had no way of knowing if all of them were even still _alive._ And it was just beginning to sink in that even if there were a bunch of Dakotas on the island, he would probably never see another human being (besides himself, of course) for the rest of his life.

He would never see Cavendish again...but at least Cavendish was still alive. That was all that mattered. If loneliness was the price to pay to keep Cavendish alive and well, then Dakota was more than happy to make it. It would just take some getting used to. And, hopefully, when he found the other Dakota's he would feel slightly less alone...hopefully.

Dakota had no idea where to find the others, so he just started walking. He figured that the best way to find himself was by just heading in the direction that felt or looked cool. So Dakota started walking through the jungle, making his way towards the volcano, but not too close to it. He was already too tired to go climbing up a volcano, so he figured that it was a safe bet that he wouldn't find the others there.

Dakota pushed past leaves, walked through a river or two, he even went across a river made of _lava_ , because it was something that he had seen done in action movies that he had secretly always wanted to try. After some time Dakota began to feel hungry, tired, and he just wanted to stop. He took this as a pretty good sign that he was getting close, because there was no way that so many Dakota's before him had gone on for much longer than he had (unless they had gone a different way, or they had all died, but Dakota didn't like to think about those options). So Dakota told himself that he would keep going for another half an hour or so before calling it a night.

Only a few minutes after Dakota had come to this decision he heard a sound that made him pause in his tracks. It kinda sounded like crying, and it sounded way too human for it to be from just a wild animal.

"Hello?" Dakota called out without considering the possibility that it might be somebody dangerous. "Is anybody out there?"

The already muffled crying died away in an instant, though Dakota then heard some rustling to his right. Dakota slowly approached the source of the noise and pushed aside some leaves that were blocking his path. "Hey, come on, I know you're out there. It's not like I'm gonna hurt you or anything. It's just me...or you, I guess, if you're one of the me's here. You are though, right? I mean, other than me, or, well, you...us, I guess, this is supposed to be a deserted island. That's why we came here." Dakota paused when he didn't get an answer. "Or am I just talking to myself...I mean, myself meaning just _me_ me, not _another_ me." Dakota quickly figured out that dealing with a bunch of hims was going to get really confusing really quickly. He wondered if he would ever actually get used to it.

Dakota climbed through a thick bush and stopped in his tracks when he found himself in a clearing with another Dakota sitting in the middle of it. This other Dakota had definitely been on the island for awhile, his clothes were stained and slightly ripped. And maybe it was just because it was clear he had been crying, but this other Dakota looked slightly...unstable. Dakota felt uneasy about the look in his other self's eyes, because before he had been partnered with Cavendish, and even a couple of times afterwards, that was the look of loneliness that Dakota had seen in his own eyes, except at least a hundred times worse. Dakota just hoped that this other self wasn't a representation of what all Dakota's on the island would eventually wind up as. Dakota didn't think he would be able to handle it.

"Hey, are you okay?" Dakota slowly approached his other self. The other Dakota looked surprised and slightly alarmed to see him. Just what kind of stuff had he been through on this island that he was scared of himself?

"What are you doing here?" The other Dakota asked slowly. "Why aren't you with the others?"

"I just got here." Dakota walked closer to his other self and sat down on the ground next to him. "What about you? Why aren't _you_ with the others?"

"It's...complicated." The other Dakota frowned and crossed his arms over his chest in an almost defensive way. "I messed up, and now the others hate me."

"No they don't." Dakota insisted. He couldn't imagine that he could ever do something that would make him hate himself. "Look, Dakota...okay, I'm sorry, but this is really weird. Can I call you something else?"

The other Dakota thought for a second. "What about just Kota?" Dakota vaguely remembered that when he was younger his parents used to always remind him that when he had been a toddler he couldn't pronounce his last name and his closest attempt had been just 'Kota'.

"Sure, Kota." Dakota grinned and held out a hand to shake his other self's hand. "You can call me Vinnie." Even if it was his first name, Dakota didn't actually go by Vinnie very often anymore. Everybody, even Cavendish, just called him Dakota. Of course, things would get pretty confusing of every single Dakota went by the same name, so Vinnie figured they might as well use nicknames.

"Anyways, Kota, I'm sure the others don't hate you." Vinnie got back to the matter at hand. "Even if you screwed up, we all do sometimes, right?"

"Not like this." Kota said seriously.

"Uh...okay." Vinnie said slowly as he tried to figure out how to respond. He had no idea what Kota thought he had done that was so terrible. "Well, do you feel sorry for whatever you did?"

"Eh, not really." Kota shrugged. "I mean...I do, but at the same time I don't. It's just...it's complicated."

Vinnie really didn't know how much he could help out in this situation when all he knew was that it was complicated. He wondered if this was how Cavendish felt sometimes. Just that one simple thought about Cavendish was enough to remind Vinnie that he would never, _ever_ see his partner again, and it was a depressing and frightening thought.

"Look, Kota, I don't know what's going between you and the others," Vinnie said. "But do you think I can stay with you tonight? See, it's been a weird and hard day, and it's my first night here. I'm just starting to realize that I won't see Cavendish again, and I just don't want to be alone right now."

Kota's expression clearly said that he didn't think it was a very good idea, for some reason, but he seemed to understand. "Yeah, sure. I'll even take you to where the others are in the morning."

"Thanks." Vinnie grinned, though his expression quickly diminished when he suddenly noticed a painful looking cut on Kota's arm. "Hey, what happened? Are you okay?"

"Huh?" Kota followed Vinnie's gaze and looked at his arm. "Oh, that. It's nothing. I'm okay."

"I don't think cuts are supposed to look like that." Vinnie stated. The cut was pussing slightly and looked a little infected. Vinnie reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue bandana. Some kid had dropped it earlier that day, and Vinnie had been planning on returning it later, but it wasn't like that was going to happen now, so he might as well make some use of it. "You should at least cover it to keep it from getting any worse."

"Oh, right," Kota shifted awkwardly as Vinnie poured the remaining water from his water bottle onto the bandana and then tied it around the cut. "Thanks."

"No problem." Vinnie said as he looked around. "So, where are we staying?"

"Here looks good." Kota put his hands behind his head and fell back against the ground.

"Awesome, I love camping." Vinnie smiled, even though he had never actually _been_ camping before. It had always sounded fun though. "I'll go get some firewood." He may not have ever done this before, but Vinnie knew that it just wasn't camping unless there was a fire. And roasted marshmallows, but they didn't exactly have access to those, so they would have to make due.

Collecting wood for a fire only took a few seconds, Vinnie just grabbed some sticks and leaves that were already on the ground around the clearing. He had never understood why in the movies people had to 'go' to get firewood. They were in a freaking forest. Just bend down and pick some stuff off the ground. It wasn't that hard.

What was not easy though was starting the darn fire. Neither Vinnie nor Kota knew what to do with it. Neither of them had a lighter or matches. Rubbing sticks together just made them feel silly. Striking two stones together definitely _felt_ like it should have been more effective, but it really wasn't. After struggling for nearly half an hour they just decided to call it quits. If it got really cold after dark, maybe they would try again. Until then though, Vinnie and Kota passed the time by telling each other ghost stories...it didn't work out very well. Neither of them were very good story tellers, and they both knew every single story that the other person knew. It was still fun though, even if they did spend half the time laughing at just how badly they were failing at this.

They both lost track of time, and they were both okay with that. The atmosphere of their fireless campout only changed after they had noticed that the sun had set and the darkness of the night was really creeping in. Vinnie had never really had a problem with the dark before, but, then again, he had never been somewhere that was quite so dark when he was already so alone.

It was as though the shadows had amplified his loneliness by a thousand, and it actually made Vinnie feel like he couldn't breath. Like the night was suffocating him.

"Uh, why don't we call it a night?" Kota asked uneasily and Vinnie felt him scoot closer.

"Good idea." Vinnie agreed immediately. He slipped off his jacket and put it on the ground as a pillow. It wasn't the most effective pillow in the world, but he had dealt with worse. Without asking, because he knew what the answer would be anyways, Kota slid closer to Vinnie and laid down right next to him. Partially because he wanted to share the jacket pillow, and partially because he was also feeling more lonely because of how dark it was, and he wanted the company.

Vinnie didn't complain. It felt nice to have somebody right there, even if that somebody was just another version of himself.

The next morning Vinnie was woken up hours earlier than he normally would have. He could sleep until noon most days, and Vinnie had assumed that because Kota was just another version of him that it would be the same. So Vinnie was really surprised when he was shaken awake by Kota before the sun had even finished rising.

"H-h-hey." Vinnie yawned as he sat up and faced his companion. "What's the deal?"

"I was starting to get hungry." Kota said, as though it explained everything, and it really didn't. "You still want me to take you to the other Dakotas?"

It seemed like an abrupt change of subject. Unless Kota was just planning on having breakfast with the rest of the Dakotas. Vinnie knew that it was a very real possibility, but he had the feeling that Kota didn't really want to rejoin the other Dakotas, not even for a meal. Maybe something really serious _had_ gone down between them.

If he was back with Cavendish, Vinnie might push the matter a little bit to find out what was going on. He knew himself though, and he knew just how naturally he lied about how he was feeling. Vinnie could even remember multiple times when he had lied to himself, so he wouldn't be all that surprised if Kota did the same thing, except to him instead of himself, even though they were technically the same person, though also kind of not...yeah, this multiple selves thing was confusing.

"Yeah, let's go." Vinnie stood up and stretched. He still felt pretty tired, but this wouldn't be the first time that he had been woken up hours earlier than he was ready for (gosh, who knew that he would even miss _that_ about Cavendish? Did the other Dakotas regularly wake each other up early just because Cavendish had used to do it, or was this just a one time thing with Kota? After this morning, would Vinnie never again be woken up by a companion who wanted to get him moving? Why did that stray thought scare him so much?)

Vinnie and Kota only had to walk for a few minutes before they could see about a dozen sturdy huts. Vinnie could even see the beginnings of a wall and some larger buildings. It definitely looked like a deserted island village, but Vinnie got the feeling that the other Dakotas were in the process of establishing a real civilization at this place. Or, at least, that was what Vinnie himself would start to do.

Shortly before they reached the village Vinnie and Kota were greeted by the welcoming committee. Vinnie got the feeling that that the many Dakotas would normally do something funny and playful to greet the newcomers, but they were apparently too shocked to do anything that morning.

"Hey, uh, guys," Kota raised a hand in greeting. He looked a little nervous, which Vinnie didn't understand at all. He wasn't the kind of person to get nervous around people. It was really weird for Vinnie to see himself look nervous. "I found another Dakota last night." Vinnie waved hello.

"Last night?" One of the Dakotas stepped forward. It didn't seem like he was necessarily the leader, but more like the Dakota that they had all decided would be the one to speak when they all had the same thing on their mind. "And you...brought him here?"

Kota rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Of course I did." Vinnie wondered if he always sounded accusatory when he felt really defensive. This whole thing was starting to feel really surreal. "What did you think I was gonna do, eat him?" It sounded like the typical ridiculous suggestion that Vinnie tended to do use when somebody accused him of doing something ridiculous. When he saw the others' reactions though, Vinnie got the weird feeling that Kota's suggestion wasn't as ridiculous as it sounded.

"What else do you want us to think?" The not-quite-but-kinda-leader Dakota crossed his arms. It seemed like a gesture that was half accusatory, and half defensive. None of us have seen you in a few days since you left. How are we supposed to know what you've been up to?"

"Uh, am I missing something?" Vinnie asked. He always felt incredibly weird when he found himself between two people who were talking about something that he didn't understand. It was even weirder when the two people were two different versions of himself.

Kota shook his head and scratched at the covered cut on his arm. "It's a long story."

"He should still know it." The other Dakota said. "We don't have secrets here." No secrets? Vinnie had a really hard time believing that. Lying had become just a natural part of his life. He wasn't sure if he knew how to _not_ have secrets anymore.

Kota scowled at the other Dakota, and any of the other Dakotas who were awake at this hour. "Then tell him yourself." Kota turned around and ran back into the jungle. Vinnie wanted to go after him, but the other Dakota grabbed his arm.

"Hang on." Other Dakota said. "If he doesn't want to be around us, then maybe it's best if we just let him go."

"Best for who?" Vinnie glared at his alternate self. It certainly wasn't the best for Kota's survival, because none of them by themselves were very good at taking care of themselves, and that was when they were living in society. Vinnie didn't know how long a single Dakota could make it on his own. Especially when he was already hurt and so obviously alone.

"For all of us." The other Dakota sighed and began to lead Vinnie further into the village. "Come on, let's go get some breakfast and we can talk. There are a few things you should know about Cannibal Dakota."

... _Cannibal_ Dakota?

Maybe something bad really _had_ happened here.

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 **A/N: I hadn't planned on making this a two-parter, but this just** _ **felt**_ **like the end of a chapter, and it just so happens to be about the length of my usual chapters, so I think I'll just go ahead and split this story into two chapters. I don't know when I'll have the next part up, but I'll try to make it soon. I mean, we all need** _ **some**_ **kind of Milo Murphy's Law material to hold us over until the crossover eventually comes out.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: And here's the next part. I'm a little worried about how well I'll portray Cannibal Dakota. I've tried to look up this kind of thing, and as far as I can tell there are a number of reasons why somebody might be a cannibal, just like there are a number of reasons why an individual might do** _ **anything.**_ **I picked what seems to be the most logical reason for Dakota, and I'm going to stick with it. I hope it makes sense and I write it in a way that is satisfying.**

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It was really surreal to be living on an island populated only by dozens of himself. Vinnie wasn't exactly _annoyed_ by all the other versions of himself, but it was easy to get overwhelmed by them. Vinnie couldn't distinguish one Dakota from another. They had all been given nicknames to identify each other, but if Vinnie couldn't tell Sleepy Dakota and Insomniac Dakota apart physically, then it didn't really matter if he knew what their nicknames were.

Vinnie probably could have easily gotten to know the other Dakota's, but if he was being honest with himself, he was doing his best to avoid many of them. Maybe it was just because he was new to the island, but the rest of the Dakota's seemed to be much more content than he was. It was like they were all perfectly content to be on the island, and the fact that they would never be able to leave or see Cavendish again was nothing more than a minor annoyance. Vinnie didn't know if this was really how they all felt, or if every single one of them was just pretending that they were okay to cope with the fact that they really weren't.

Maybe in time he would be able to interact with all of the Dakotas, but at that moment he just wasn't ready to be around so many versions of himself that all seemed perfectly okay to be on the island when he was far from okay himself.

Vinnie couldn't exactly avoid every single Dakota all the time, so he just went out of his way to put himself into situations where he wouldn't only have to be around one or two other Dakotas at a time. He frequently volunteered to be part of the hunting/foraging/wood getting groups. Besides constructing the houses and walls in the village, these were the most physical jobs, which meant that there were always spots available. Most Dakota's could handle the physical labor, they would just rather do something else. Vinnie wasn't all that fond of the hard work either, but he appreciated the excuse to get out of the village and into the jungle. Not only did they usually work in smaller groups, which made him feel more comfortable, but Vinnie also had an ulterior motive.

"Hey, Vinnie, surprised to see you on wood duty again." A Dakota greeted him sarcastically, though not in a meanspiritted kind of way. Vinnie wanted to say that he was Really Smelly Dakota, though honestly none of them had ever really been big on personal hygiene, and they were all stuck on an island together, so they were all kind of really smelly. "Still not find Cannibal Dakota yet?"

"I'm pretty sure that if I had, you would have heard about it by now." Vinnie reminded Really Smelly Dakota. None of them thought about it very often, but they were all huge gossips. They didn't regularly talk about other people behind their backs, but since they were all technically the same person, it was free game. News on the island, especially if it concerned another Dakota, spread like wildfire. "And don't call him that."

Really Smelly Dakota rolled his eyes and shrugged. If he was anybody else, Vinnie would think that he was ignoring and dismissing him. He knew that this was just his way of saying ' _okay, I was out of line, but what else do you want me to say?'_

It was a gesture that Dakota had used _a lot_ when he had been around Cavendish.

"I'm not calling him Cannibal Dakota to be mean." Really Smelly Dakota said. "But you heard the stories, didn't you?"

Vinnie sighed. "Yeah, I heard them." It had been a few weeks since 'the incident', and the Dakotas were still talking about it. Nobody knew the exact details, because the only Dakotas who had actually been there...well, they weren't around anymore. The only _living_ Dakota who actually knew what had happened was Kota, and though he had come clean about it all, he had run off shortly afterwards and had barely said a thing to any other Dakota.

They were all worried about him, both because of what had happened, and because he was in the jungle all by himself, but none of them had tried very hard to bring him back. Most Dakotas thought that if he didn't want to be in the village, if he wanted to avoid any possible temptation to let himself go over the edge again, then they shouldn't force him.

Vinnie wasn't one of those Dakotas.

It didn't matter how often the others tried to convince him that Kota would rather be alone, Vinnie knew otherwise. He couldn't forget the look of intense loneliness in Kota's eyes that first night. He had felt alone, and he was scared, and Vinnie could relate to that. Kota wasn't just some monster that should be forgotten about because none of the Dakotas wanted to confront the idea that they were capable of doing what he had done. Kota had made a mistake, but he was still a Dakota.

The whole reason that they had started this whole society in the first place was so that all the additional Dakotas would have somewhere to go, and people to go _to._ There shouldn't be an isolated Dakota on the island who was living away from the others. It defeated the whole purpose of the island. It wasn't right, and it wasn't fair.

That was why Vinnie took any chance that he could to go into the jungle. He wanted to find Kota, and he wanted to bring him back to the village. Vinnie wanted to show Kota that they wanted to help him, and he didn't have to do any of this on his own.

Every single time Vinnie worked in the jungle, which was nearly every single day, he focused more on looking for Kota than on whatever task he was supposed to be doing. No Dakota was allowed in the jungle by themselves, and they always traveled in groups of twos or threes whenever any of them had to go in there. The other Dakotas all understood that Vinnie was worried about Kota, so they humored him and let him look while they picked up the slack.

Vinnie was grateful that they let him look for Kota. After searching for nearly two weeks though, Vinnie was beginning to think that maybe the others were right and Kota just didn't want to be found. Vinnie frequently found clues that indicated that Kota had been in any given area fairly recently. The first couple of times, Vinnie thought that it was just bad luck that he got to a location just a few hours after Kota had left it. After a while though Vinnie had to consider that it wasn't bad luck at all, and Kota was just avoiding them.

Vinnie didn't understand it. He _knew_ that Kota was lonely, so why would he refuse any kind of contact? Was it because he still thought they all hated him? Was it because he hated himself?

When Vinnie had considered that maybe Kota just didn't want to be found, he backed off for a few days. He still didn't think that it was right, to leave Kota out in the jungle to fend for himself, but if Kota didn't want help, it wouldn't feel right to force him to take it. Vinnie believed this for a few days before he he began his search for Kota all over again.

Kota may have given up on himself, but Vinnie wasn't going to give up on him.

So he began to look for his friend again. Vinnie didn't have much more luck than he did before, but he didn't let that stop him from trying. After all, his luck had to turn at some point, didn't it?

Vinnie tried to keep track of how long he was on the island for, but it was a lot harder than he had thought. Vinnie had never really been very good at keeping track of time in the first place, and it was much more difficult on the island. Vinnie did the same thing day after day, and it wasn't long before everything just started to blur together.

Between trying to figure out which Dakota was which, doing whatever tasks he volunteered for, and keeping an eye out for Kota, Vinnie kept himself busy. After awhile of doing the same thing over and over again, Vinnie started to just go through the motions. He wished that something would change.

"Guys! Guys!" Vinnie and Really Smelly Dakota paused in their wood gathering and looked to see another Dakota, though Vinnie had no idea which one, running towards them. "You'll never guess who just came back to the village."

Vinnie dropped the stacks of wood that he had been holding. Every other Dakota barely ever left the village, which meant that there was just one person that could have 'come back' "Kota."

The Dakota that had been approaching them stopped in his tracks. "Oh, right." He frowned slightly in boredom and disappointment. "For some reason I thought that it would be harder than tha-hey, where are you going?"

Vinnie ignored his question. He had already started to make his way back to village. He had been looking for Kota for a long time, and he just came back? Had his loneliness just gotten worse? Was he hurt? Was he just ready to accept their help? Vinnie needed to know what was going on. He needed to see Kota.

Dakota's didn't normally travel far from the village, even when they went into the jungle, they were careful to stay close. It only took Vinnie a few minutes to run back to the village. Despite the fairly short distance, Vinnie's lungs still felt like they were burning by the time he got back. Maybe he really _should_ work out more, because Vinnie felt like he should be in better shape than that.

The village was more crowded than it usually was. More Dakotas than usual were out and about. Word about Kota must have gotten around quickly and they were all curious and cautious. All of the Dakota's seemed to be talking at once, and it was enough to give Vinnie a headache. He didn't pay them any attention though. After all, he wasn't there for any of them.

"Where's Kota?" Vinnie asked loudly to make himself heard. Some of the other Dakotas grew quiet when they heard him. Some of them looked guilty, some of them looked concerned. The rest just looked slightly embarrassed, like they had been caught doing something they knew they weren't supposed to do, but it was something that they would likely end up doing all over again.

"You got here quickly." One of the Dakota's said somewhat nervously. He didn't seem all that excited to see Vinnie there, though he didn't seem entirely disappointed either. Vinnie wondered if something was wrong.

"Where is he?" Vinnie's tone was more accusatory than he meant for it to be, but he was concerned.

The Dakota that had addressed him gestured to one of the shacks. "He's in there." Vinnie looked to see that the shack was crowded by a number of curious looking Dakotas that were failing to look like they were just standing around casually. Vinnie also noticed that shack had a makeshift lock on the door. He glared at the other Dakotas.

"Why did you lock him in there?" Vinnie actually had a pretty good guess, but that didn't mean that he had to be happy about it.

The other Dakota raised his hands defensively. "Hey, he was asking for it." Vinnie clenched his fists. How come he was the only Dakota that was even vaguely interested in giving Kota a second chance? The other Dakota's eyes widened in surprise. "No, I'm serious, he literally asked us to put him in there. He wouldn't stop freaking out until he knew that he couldn't get out."

Vinnie sighed. For whatever reason, Kota had decided to return to the village, but he refused to let anybody see him. Something had to be done. "Let me talk to him."

The other Dakota shrugged. "The shacks aren't all that strong. You can just break in through the window. Cannibal Dakota might not want to talk to you, but none of us will bother you."

Vinnie frowned in confusion. "You won't?" If Vinnie knew the other Dakotas, and he most definitely did, then he knew that they were curious about why Kota had been avoid them, and especially about what had caused him to...well…

"He won't talk to any of us." Another Dakota spoke up. "He might talk to you." Vinnie didn't know how well that would work out, considering he was just another version of all of them were, but if it meant that he could see how Kota was doing, then he would give it a try.

"But, you know, if you find anything out…" The other Dakota trailed off sheepishly.

"I'll tell you guys what's going on if I figure it out." Vinnie promised. He really didn't think that there should be secrets between Dakotas. It just wouldn't feel right.

Vinnie made his way to the back of the shack where there was a makeshift window, if one could even call it that. The 'window' was just a hole in the wall covered by some cheap fabric. Vinnie didn't even have to really break in, he just had to push the fabric aside and crawl right through. Vinnie did just that.

"Hey, Kota," Vinnie said quietly as he clumsily pushed his way into the shack. "It's been awhile." Kota was curled up in the corner of the shack. He looked even worse off than he had been when Vinnie had first met him, if that was even possible. His clothes were in an even worse state than before. Kota had taken the blue bandana that Vinnie had tied around the cut on his arm and put it over his head instead. The skin around the cut was red and angry looking. There was still pus coming from the wound, but it looked more green than yellow now. It was most definitely infected.

The cut wasn't just painful, it was dangerous. Vinnie wasn't a doctor, but he thought that it was a pretty safe guess to say that with a cut like that, and the way that Kota's hair and bandana were drenched in sweat, and he seemed to be mumbling incoherently, he probably had a fever. A really bad one.

"You doing okay in here?" Vinnie sat down on the ground next to his friend.

"Not here." Kota muttered and he refused to look up at him. "Not s'posed t'be here."

"Well, I _am_ here." Vinnie kept his voice even and quiet. He didn't want to scare Kota. "I'm glad to see you here too."

Kota looked up at him, his brow furrowed in confusion. "Why?"

"I was worried about you." Vinnie said honestly. "The others were too."

Kota whimpered and seemed to curl in on himself even more. "Why?" He repeated.

"Because someone has to." Vinnie said simply. "And we had some fun that first night that I was on the island, didn't we?"

Kota looked confused, like he wasn't entirely sure which Dakota Vinnie was. It was understandable. Vinnie certainly got confused about which Dakota was which, and it had been some time since they had seen each other. And, of course, Kota was sick. That probably didn't help.

"I gave you that bandana." Vinnie reminded him. A bit of recognition came into Kota's eyes and he nodded.

"Bandana...you're nice." Kota muttered. "Running from you."

"Yeah, you were running from me." Vinnie frowned slightly. "Why did you do that?"

Kota looked at the floor and relaxed a little bit. "Dangerous...bad…"

"You mean because of what happened?" Vinnie untied the bandana from Kota's forehead and brushed the hair away from his eyes. Kota leaned into his touch, and Vinnie didn't blame him. Kota's forehead was really warm. Vinnie's hand, in comparison, was probably rather cool. "Why would I think you were dangerous because of something you did when I don't even know exactly what happened?"

Kota frowned and his eyes seemed to glaze over slightly, though Vinnie wasn't sure if it was because of the fever or something else. "It wasn't supposed to happen. It was an accident?"

Vinnie tilted his head in confused. "What was an accident?" He asked, because he really didn't think that somebody could accidentally eat somebody else. Well, maybe they could, but he doubted that that was the case this time around.

"They were always there." Kota muttered. "Came to the island together." Vinnie knew that the boat that took them to the island only left port once or twice a day. So if Cavendish died multiple times in a single day (it didn't happen very often, but it wasn't unheard of), then it would make sense for those Dakotas to have come out on the same ship. Kota must have been in one of those groups.

"We were with each other all the time here." Kota closed his eyes and grabbed onto Vinnie's jacket. "They knew how I felt." That actually sounded pretty nice. Even though they were all Dakotas, Vinnie knew all too well how difficult it could be for a new Dakota to adjust. He was still trying to figure things out on the island. It sounded like it would be pretty nice to have another Dakota or two that had arrived on the island around the same time, so they were probably in the same state of mind as he was.

"I don't know what happened." Kota admitted, which Vinnie didn't entirely understand. Wasn't Kota the only one that _did_ know what had happened? "I wasn't with them. I don't know what I was doing, but when I got back, they were gone, just like Cavendish."

' _Just like Cavendish'._ Those words sent shivers down Vinnie's spine. "You mean they died?"

Kota shuddered and wrapped the hand that wasn't clutching tightly to Vinnie's jacket around his own stomach. "Lost Cavendish. Didn't want to lose them too, so I didn't." Kota let out a broken laugh that sounded like it couldn't decide which emotion it wanted to expression, guilt, joy, or longing. "Now they're always with me."

Vinnie felt like he was going to be sick to his stomach. "You... _ate_ them so they wouldn't leave you?"

"I didn't want to be alone." Kota let out another broken sound, though this one was too much like a sob to be anything else other than an expression of despair and anguish. "I-I don't want to be alone anymore."

Vinnie sighed and looked blankly at the wall, as though he had suddenly found a small food stain that he had just spotted to be the most fascinating thing in the world. "Neither do I." Vinnie knew that Dakotas were the only ones that were on the island, but he still didn't understand how it could still be so darn lonely there.

Vinnie shook his head. Kota needed help, and he couldn't exactly help him if he was too concerned about himself. "But hey, we don't have to be alone. I mean, I know I'm no Cavendish, but it's better than nothing, right?"

"Better than nothing." Kota grimaced. "I'm tired of feeling nothing."

"We all are." Vinnie took the blue bandana and tied it loosely around Kota's neck. Vinnie then stood up and held his hand out to Kota. "But things aren't going to get better if we just wait in here and wallow in our self pity." Maybe this was why all of the other Dakotas put on a happy face all the time. It wasn't easy to pretend that nothing was wrong, but it was more pleasant than accepting such a hard reality. "You ready to go face the others? They'll probably have some food."

Vinnie was relieved to see a bit of light return to Kota's eyes at the mention of food. "I could eat." Kota said. It was really a cause of concern if a Dakota refused food. Although, considering Kota wasn't quite like all of the other Dakotas, Vinnie figured that they would probably have to set up some limits. Obviously, they couldn't have him eating any more Dakotas. He would have to get his food from somewhere else, same as the rest of them.

Kota let himself be pulled to his feet. He didn't seem to be completely steady, probably because of his fever. He needed food, he needed rest, and he definitely needed to get the cut on his arm taken care of. It was clear to Vinnie that Kota refused to take care of himself. He needed help. Vinnie was willing to do what he could to help Kota, and that meant keeping him in line. He hoped that the others would feel the same way.

They probably would. After all, they were all Dakotas. And now that they were on the island, none of them had anything to do except keep an eye out for each other. That's what the whole purpose of the island was. It was a sad existence, but it was the only one that they had left.

* * *

 **A/N: I seriously need to stop writing stories with such open endings. They're probably frustrating to read...but they're just so much** _ **fun**_ **to write. And this story was interesting to say the very least. It is really hard to write Dakota interacting with nobody but himself. Cannibal Dakota is seriously hard to write, because he's Cannibal Dakota, but he's still a Dakota, but he's also sick.**


End file.
